Magazine Archive

Death is a universal certainty, yet most Americans’ interactions with it are limited to times of crisis. The Death Issue invites us to explore “a good death”—how to prepare ourselves and heal loved ones while we are still in the living world, how to die when we are ready, and how to make plans for the disposition of our bodies in a way that underscores our place in the ecosystem and nurtures the planet.

This issue asks us to move through the world differently as we travel, to more deeply consider the places we visit and the people who live there. You’ll get ideas for how to radicalize the trips you take so they do more to create a fairer exchange: by supporting local economies, building real relationships, protecting natural resources, and taking the time to learn the political and historical truth about these places.

Somewhere in time, humans’ natural relationship to soil became broken. This issue explores how communities are reconnecting to the earth and fixing the damage, turning lifeless dirt into fertile soil. By returning to a culture that loves its soil, we can grow healthy food and make it available to everyone. In turn, healthy soils will heal our bodies and the planet. It’s time to get dirty.

To fix this country’s rising inequality, we need to use the vast amount of wealth we have already—capital—in better ways than gambling on Wall Street and propping up capitalism’s favorite destructive industries. In this issue, we look at opportunities to invest in communities and improve people’s lives with our biggest pots of money—tax dollars, philanthropy endowments, and fossil fuel divestments.

Nearly 50 percent of Americans will experience a mental health disorder at some point in their lifetime. Anxiety, depression, and addiction are on the rise. Why? And what can we do about it? In this issue, we look at the culture, economics, and politics that play a significant role in everyone’s mental health, and the many community responses that are helping to heal us.

A decade after the housing market crash, too few homes are available where they’re needed. In places where there are enough homes, for sale or for rent, prices are increasingly out of reach for people who aren’t wealthy. The affordability challenge is different for each city, so communities are borrowing ideas from each other, then innovating. People, too, are shifting expectations to create affordable homes.

American white supremacy can be traced back colonialism. In this issue we explore the extent to which ending economic, cultural, and racial oppression is possible. What movements are countering the colonialist power structures? What’s working to support self-determination? We turned to Indigenous writers and photographers to tell those stories.

As capitalism continues to enrich the wealthiest at the expense of everyone else, it’s easy to feel defeated. But there are other stories to tell—the stories of communities full of generous people who are finding ways to lift each other up. In this issue you'll learn how to build solidarity economies based on joy. From how we shop to how we build our homes and livelihoods, we can help bring justice—and joy—to others.

The transition away from fossil fuels to renewable energy is underway. That’s good news for the planet as well as the disadvantaged communities that bear an outsized burden of the extractive economy. As we make this transition, now is the moment to make sure the emerging economic system addresses the injustices of the old. Our fall 2017 issue looks at specific paths toward a “just transition”—one built on inclusivity and equity.

Between ICE raids and xenophobic travel policies, immigrants increasingly live in fear and uncertainty. But there’s a groundswell of resistance—from cities and states to small communities and individuals. Our summer issue explores the compassionate defiance behind sanctuary. In standing together to protect vulnerable people, our communities are flexing the vital political and moral muscles of resistance.

Up against the White House’s “alternative facts” and attempts to hide climate data, can new allies—citizens and science—prevail against politicians and corporations? Climate science is looking like a new front line, and scientists are increasingly its freedom fighters. Citizens need to support them by engaging in daily research, demanding truth, and forcing government and industry to use research for the common good.

For our 20th-anniversary issue, we asked a dozen reporters to speak with hundreds of people around the country—activists, entrepreneurs, parents, politicians, religious leaders, scientists, students, workers—to bring you 50 of our favorite inspiring solutions. These are the ideas making the places we live more sustainable and inclusive—and bringing communities together.

Four out of 10 Americans work outside of the traditional 9-to-5, a rate that is growing fast. For workers, this "gig" work can feel both empowering and precarious. This issue looks at how we can bring out the best of the gig economy, but also protect workers. From cooperatives and online communities to "portable" work benefits, we can make the gig economy work for us.

From North Carolina bathrooms to the fight for the White House, sex, gender, and power are in the headlines. This issue takes us beyond breaking news for a closer look at the forces inviting us toward a more inclusive understanding of who women are and how gender works. You’ll discover that embedded in today’s feminism is a demand for the rights and dignity of all people.

The science is clear: we have to keep carbon in the ground. But what happens next? This issue looks at how we can get to a post-carbon world—from easy switches to big fixes—and what life will be like when we do. Getting off fossil fuels is daunting, but we found it may also be the key to a more joyful, connected, and fair way of life.